we are about a month a way from travel and have huge expenses ahead of us! Phil & I have been brainstorming about things we can do to raise funds.

We are trying to plan some fundraisers over the next few weeks prior to leaving to help assist with fundraising.Even with the very generous people that have donated to us, we still lack around $20,000 in the next month. As you all know if these funds are not raised, our daughter forever remains an orphan. I believe there are some wonderful people that are in our area that would be willing to help us with a fundraiser, but we need you to come forward to help!

I will post information on the fundraisers as soon as we know more information.

Please continue the prayers as 3 of us (including me) have strep throat and don't feel so hot. Time is getting so close and we are still a long way from our goal! Faith is believing the things not seen! Our God is bigger than any problem we have! He has led us to our daughter so we will have to see how He will provide. I don't know which ones of you He will use, but you know if He is calling you!

Thank you so much for all the support you have shown to us! I will keep you updated! God Bless!

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

I know I told you I'd write on my blog tonight! I posted on FB before I thought to post here so if you read my FB page, you may have read this.

I
was working on my speech for tomorrow for Blue Mountain College -which I
cannot figure out how much to work on it. I mean this is my story/my
life/my experiences so I cannot figure out what cue cards I might need.
You've read my blogs and while I can give statics and such orphans have so burdened my heart that I know all the "big" facts.
I decided to put some pictures because as big as my heart is for each
precious life, one might quickly get bored listening to my country
accent! I came across this picture. And tears really began to fall down
my face as I remembered an image I've tried to put to the back of my
mind because it hurts to bad. It hurts knowing GiGi spent 21/2 years of
her life here! It hurts knowing the ones left behind! I praise God
for breaking my heart for these precious children but man my heart is in
millions of pieces for them! Adoption isn't for the faint at heart
because it's sometimes more than I can handle thinking of these children
without families to love them!!!

Well,
as tears rolled down my face from the lat picture, I came across this
one and I almost couldn't breathe! What if, what if.........what if
this was my daughter? I know this particular girl is not but she seemed
about the age of our daughter. Please
we cannot let these older children age out without the love of a forever
family- NONE of the children need to go without family! Wow, I do not know if I will get through this speech at the
college tomorrow with out crying everywhere! Prayers requested! I think this is going to be harder than I thought and no because I'm not a great public speaker but the flashbacks are going to get me!

Guan Ya has a little
over a month to be adopted or she will forever not have a family! We
cannot let our daughter age out! WE CANNOT!!!!!

I've been down
today but seeing this picture and remembering these children without
families just reminded me how hard we have to be their fighting voice!
They have no voice without us! WE ARE THEIR VOICES!!!! These children
need and deserve love! Look, there are millions of orphans so these
pictures are not representative of the vast number of orphans that go
without a family! If you cannot adopt/do not feel led to adopt, please
help orphans WORLDWIDE in anyway you can! God loves the little children! ALL the little children of the world!!!

“Orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are
easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend
they’re not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do,
everything changes.” -David Platt

Please pray for these children and pray for us! These are God's wonderfully made children!

It's typical of our family - wild kids, GiGi crawling on the table and squealing , cookie stealing, nasty cookie faces, just keepin' it real n wild! Whew! We may have given H*ney B** B** a run for her money tonight! I'm sure everyone will be convinced we need more children after that interview. O_o but it's REAL Life! & No doubt it will be entertaining! Note: You will probably be able to locate it under the circus tab of WREG! =DFor people that are new, you can read more about Our Story....http://long-road-to-china.blogspot.com/2012/12/and-this-is-our-story.html We are still in need of over $20,000 in less than 45 days to bring home our daughter or she will age out of the system and forever be an orphan. That estimate is only for fees for my husband and Igoing to China to unite with her.I'm going to try and recap all the ways you can make donations if you feel led:

Trustmark National Bank account set up:

Donations can be made nation wide at any Trustmark National Bank through the account:

Phillip Smith or Niki J. Smith's Adoption Account

If you would like to mail a donation, please mail it to

Phil or Niki Smith

P.O. Box 332Rienzi, MS 38865

You can find this link to the right of our page and it is our Paypal - I believe the purpose still states GIGi, but we are using the same account for GUan Ya that we did for GiGi so it is the correct (you can use any type of credit cards to donate)

You should also be able to ask Morgan how you can send a donation to the adoption agency on our behalf if you would like to send it there.

As most of you know we are in a huge time crunch to raise funds because our daughter (deaf-mute) ages out of the system at the age of 14 years old (March 9, 2013). If we do not have all the funds raised and our adoption is not complete by that time, our daughter will never have the opportunity to be adopted.

Please consider donating not to us but to Guan Ya so that she will know the love of a forever family. PLEASE do not feel any amount is too small! We've had over 22,000 hits to this page. If each person that clcked on our page donated on $1, Guan YA would have the funds needed to come to her forever home! If you do not feel led to donate, please pray without ceasing! God has a plan and we have FAITH! Please share our story and blogspot so others can watch a modern day miracle unfold! God led us here and He will provide! Will He use you to help provide?

We have faith and are getting excited to see how God will provide! Thank you for following our story and for your prayers &/or donations! God bless you!

that page! Colt & Macy Jade wanted to draw attention to their sister's adoption and I want them to know kids CAN make a difference! Your 'LIKE' will let kids know they aren't too small to make a difference!

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

LONG but worth the read!!!!! Betcha =DWe have been blessed, blessed, blessed! All praise and Glory to the Lord! I think we are getting closer to Heaven because the devil's fire isn't on here - oh wait, that's just the heat that went out last night - NOPE not kidding - our heating unit isn't working but the devil isn't driving us out!

Just Smiling (in a chattery fashion) =D

The people that have shown love for Guan Ya and for her to have a forever family is incredible! Thank you for praying, sharing and donating for Guan Ya to have a forever loving family she deserves! PLEASE don't stop - we have 45 days or less to get this baby girl adopted!!!!!!

I know over the last few days, your head is probably spinning from me saying like here and like there, here a like, there a like, everywhere a like, like.'Ol' the Smith's have a crazy (Cold) home Eho.mEE, Eho.mEE, O'(for those of you that might be definition illiterate, I'll define Eho.mEE just this once time. Eho.mEE is GiGi's FAVORITE thing to say (outside of NO) - I'm not sure if she is part donkey (as it sounds much donkeyish) She runs her words completely together when she wants me to hold her. Eho.mEE = you hold me (GiGi style so dont' go copy-catting it! =D ) So how in the world did you not know that definition? That definition is probably contributing to my back pain - well or falling off that stool yesterday as my vertically challenged self was trying to clean the ceiling fan.

Anyway, I'm pretty certain CMT just hasn't figured out how to contact us yet so if they call you by mistake just direct them to the crazy house! Between my jingle above and Colt's rap/Macy Jade's ummm, ummmm backup dancing https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=363469307084943&set=vb.418416251583634&type=2&theaterI'm sure they are fighting over just which one will sign us firsts! =DAnd that link with my kiddos (yeah above, that's a like, like - along with the page it's made for) The first thing the kiddos asked before feet ever touched th floo' "Do we have anymore likes?" Just go like that page and LIKE then SHARE, SHARE , SHARE everywhere a Share Share - groups and pages, blogs too, yahoo, Google groups too - woah Nellie, I'm on a jingle roll this am. Must be my brain freezing in this cold house! lol

Since we are talking about sharing and liking. My precious friends the Bennett's that we traveled with (July) have started a page trying to encourage others (hint, hint Others=You) to collect change over the next month. It's a great time to get the kids to clean out the couches and washing machine for change. Just put a bucket to the side and let's see which family can collect the most change for GuanYa's journey home!!!! I LOVE to get my kids involved and let them know they can make a difference - kids can set up a face paint booth, lemon-aid (if you are unsure how to go about this I've heard Honey Boo Boo has a special about setting up a Lemon-aid stand - a must see I'm sure), or do small chores to grab some change if they want to help! Don't leave those kiddos out - they are our future and we need to let them know they CAN make a difference too! So LIKE & SHARE #2 for the dayhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Change-A-Childs-Life/430628360341115

And if you are still following by now (yeah, I probably lost most of you within the first couple sentences - YAWN) but if you are still hear, there's a little bit of dust to stir (If you know me, you know I'll have on my boots! =D ). I wrote this last night https://www.facebook.com/TimMcGraw/posts/10151384187828556?notif_t=likehttps://www.facebook.com/TimMcGraw/posts/10151384187828556?notif_t=likehttps://www.facebook.com/TimMcGraw/posts/10151384187828556?notif_t=like(as I will try to reach out to anyone to bring my daughter home -wouldn't you if your rugrat was on the other side of the world and you had less than 45 days to get him/her? Yeah, I know sometimes you want to leave them, but really you'd never think about leaving your child! 'fo-real' That is EXACTLY where we are at with Guan Ya! Dude, they are holding her with a ransom AKA adoption fees! We must pay the high toll to get her! But could you just leave your child? NOPE! Well, me either! Oh yeah, where was I at.......I wrote on Tim McGraw's wall last night and Faith Hill's wall last week asking for a shout out for our GUan Ya! If you are not familiar with how close adoption is to both Tim & Faith's life, go do your research & ya just might learn ya something! Anywhooooo, I was reaching out to him last night and the next thing I know you goofwadz saw it (oops didn't know that was going public; however my BMs will probably be public next if it will get my daughter home - sorry TMI!). Last I looked at that post it had 45 "likes" (45 is that magic # ya know - how many days until our darlin ages out and will forever be an orphan if we don't complete the adoption). Since we are just LikIng and a Sharing today, head on over to Mr. Tim's site and like our post.https://www.facebook.com/TimMcGraw/posts/10151384187828556?notif_t=likeLIKE, COMMENT if ya wanna & tell others to get over there and stir a little dust. He knows how important adoption is for children!Tell him about us if you feel led. Let's see if we can wake him up this morning! If you know of anyway to reach him, Faith, or anyone else that might help, hollar at me or hollar at them.Look, it maybe a far shot, but my daughter is on the other side of the world so Ima ups to about anything (legal & pleasing to God) to bring this one precious orphan child home - this one orphan that will soon age out and forever carry the orphan status UNLESS, her family (Us) comes after that sweet pea in the next few weeks officially making her our daughter/sister - she is already here in our hearts but the USA or Chinese government doesn't recognize the writing on our hearts yet.

Now Remember here a like, there a like, everywhere a like, like.'Ol' the Smith's have a crazy (Cold) home Eho.mEE, Eho.mEE, O'

Sunday, January 20, 2013

My wife, Niki, is an amazing person. I know I don't say that enough. I hope that I let her know how much she means to me and the family, but I feel like I rarely have the opportunity to give praise to her around the people that surround us and have followed us on this journey. I know in a few months (weeks!...wow) we will be going back to China to meet our daughter and yet another adventure will begin. She is so often the driving force behind things progressing in this adoption process. She has taught me a lot about faith. Total and complete faith. Something I might have never found with out her. During this never ending adventure, we have never doubted that God's plan was for us to adopt. I know that I have been called; just as she has been called. It is a humbling experience to be called to adopt, but I knew it would be difficult and we didn't have the financial means to adopt GiGi Dahl. When we found Guan Ya it was almost comical. We were and are completely broke, but she is our daughter that God has laid before us and by faith we follow his will. During the times that I have felt the dark clouds overhead, she has given me strength. When I feel like there is no way we can meet our financial obligations, she reminds me that God is in control and we walk by faith. I feel the spirit in my life and I know my life is not my own. Niki helps me to allow it to control my life. I do not see how one person could weather this crazy life alone. I am thankful that she is my partner. I really love her.

I am also thankful for all the people that have supported us along this journey. You are the vehicle God has used to give an orphan a family. It is very humbling and I thank God that he put you in our path. I know that we still have an incredible amount of money to raise, and we are seriously running out of time. I can almost feel the clock ticking. When you are called to adopt, you put total trust in the Lord, but it is not easy. The stress that we allow ourselves to feel when our faith is tested takes its toll mentally and physically. Two adoptions in six months has aged me terribly. Macy lets me know how gray my hair is getting! Lol! Well, I'm pretty sure that it would be turning gray anyway, but I do seriously feel tired. Not the "I need a nap or I need to catch up on my sleep", but more of the just totally spent. Some days I feel like I just don't have anything left. This is when my beautiful wife lifts me up. She reminds me that we are going to make it! Guan Ya is our daughter and she will not be left behind. When I feel like I'm losing my mind, she reminds me that I was crazy way before we started this adoption journey. Just Kidding! Sorta.

So, I know that I don't write often on our blog, but there were some things that I needed to say. We need your help. I hate asking for help. I really hate asking for help! But if it is the only way to serve my Lord then I will without hesitation. So many times I've asked God if he was sure he had the right people. We are called to adopt?

I want to give God the praise for all he is doing in our lives. He is teaching me to live by faith. And the support that you have given has humbled me. We have so far to go, but we are chipping away at the expense and by your donations and prayers we have slipped under the wire on every payment. I love to see the Lord working through all of you to fulfill his will for Niki and I to adopt. Keep us in your thoughts and we continue to ask for your support.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

We have been overwhelmed over the love you have shown us though re-sharing our story, words of encouragement, prayers, and donations! As of now, we have $372 in paypal donations. We have the Paypal button above the Chip-In button. They both go to the same account. Chip-In just keeps a running total of what has been donated through that route which I like because everyone can see our donation amount. However, I've gotten many messages from people that it often doesn't work or isn't available. If you use the PayPal button above it, you will get a message that you are donating to GiGi (our first adopted daughter). It goes to the correct place, but I cannot figure out how to change GiGi's name to Guan Ya's name on it. If you know how to fix the Chip-In button to work more accurately or if you know how I can manually update it, please let me know.We've had 30 purchases http://coupaide.com/deal/smith-adoption-fund/of the $50 gift certificates for $20 so that is $300 we will have from it. I think they issue the money once a month so it will arrive next month. If you like to save money, this is an awesome discount at 60% off. The certificate does not expire and is good at 18,000 locations nation wide. You can view the participating locations here http://www.restaurant.com/listing/findrestaurantsIf you want $10 to go back to Guan Ya's adoption fund, you have to go back to her fundraiser page here http://coupaide.com/deal/smith-adoption-fund/

I know today when I started to post in semi-panic mode, it appeared I was loosing faith. Please don't think that at all! Our maker is in control but I feel the urgency to get the word out about our needs to get Guan Ya home. There is power in numbers so we want as many people to know & pray about our journey as possible! I pray people will see our blog and be blessed as they watch God perform His modern day miracle by meeting our needs to bring home our daughter when it doesn't seem possible! I do not believe God intended children to be institutionalized or without family! We knew when we started this journey that we were walking on blind faith by making a path that didn't seem possible! God has this and we are at peace with that! However, I feel He wants the word out about Guan Ya's adoption so others can see how He provides when you follow His will. We are praising Him for putting us in this position. When we are weak, we lean on Him to hold us up and He strengthens us! He provides our needs in His timing!I hate to write this and I've debated, but I'm going to put it in writing. Note, we've NEVER passed a bad check and NEVER written a check without the full amount in our account. Call it stupid or blind faith. We need $800 for Monday so I'm sending a check tomorrow for $800 even though we are about $428 short right now. I need to send it so Guan Ya's paperwork will continue and not lag. Paperwork is being sent Monday to China in which $800 payment is needed to. I cannot wait to tell you Monday that I don't have to ask anyone to hold my check. I cannot wait to tell you how God provides that money by the time it's needed Monday! That is not the only payment we have due next week, but it's urgent to have that amount to send to China. The devil has been running after us like crazy, but I know our Lord is bigger!I'm so tired and I still have 2-3 hours worth of work to do tonight but I wanted to give you an updated total. Please don't think my sleepiness and fried brain writing are anything less than grateful and praising the Lord for every prayer, encouragement and every dollar! We are praising Him for each of you that love the orphans! We praise Him for providing! We praise Him for putting each of you in our path! Without Him this is not possible! With a mustard seed of faith, we can move mountains.Please keep praying and sharing our journey!Much love to you all!

Not in our area? No problem Restaurant.com gift certificates are accepted by over 18,000 restaurants. You can search the accepting restaurants in your city online. If you want Guan Ya's Adoption to get the credit, make sure you purchase from her page! You cannot lose by this deal! $50 for $20 and we get $10.

THIS IS PERFECT for VALENTINE's DAY!!!!

They make wonderful gifts!

It's a great savings for you and helps us to get our daughter home! Yes, this is real and you are welcome to google it (encouraged to check) if you have any doubts!

As most of you know we are in a huge time crunch to raise funds because our daughter (deaf-mute) ages out of the system at the age of 14 years old (March 9, 2013). If our adoption is not complete by that time, our daughter will never have the opportunity to be adopted.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

O.k. I HATE discussing fiances. I really really do! But unfortunately it takes funds to adopt these wonderfully made children that are hungry for love & hungry for a forever family. (so don't adopt some say? Sorry, that's not an option! When my Lord calls me to adopt, we cannot let money or anything else stand in the way no matter how scary it may seem.) We are really in need of some serious funds in the next 8 weeks. I broke down today and finally added it up. This is the amount of funds we know we need for the rest of our adoption fees and for Phil & I to travel to China. Big Breath (our orphan loving God is bigger, our orphan loving God is much bigger, our orphan loving God can chomp this out before our daughter ages out).........$22,250 No I'm not kidding and we have 8 weeks. We tried to fundraise prior to Christmas with photography (and we've used those funds toward adoption fees), but with getting paperwork together, just getting back with GiGi, the sickness we've had, regular school and life, yadda, yadda, yadda I honestly do not know how many fundraisers we can do in the next 8 weeks to get this money (time is not in our favor). Please don't take that wrong.......we are willing to do anything in our power but our time is running very short! I'm swamped from the time I get up until after midnight almost every night!We had plans to do Valentine pictures and Phil was planning on building some props for that during Christmas break, but none of us were well so that didn't go over. Pictures take time not just taking them but also processing them. We LOVE photography but right now we have to get our daughter home. I hope to get in some pictures but I honestly do not know how many shoots we will get in.With GiGi's adoption we were with a different agent (not considered a Christian agency) so we did not even qualify for many grants. I'll be honest in telling you we also did not search out grants greatly with our first adoption because we felt there were others in greater need - we were clueless that we would be stuck in China such a long time and clueless we would be called to adopt again so soon. GiGi's adoption was our first adoption and we did refinance our home - that is not an option again. I sold my Suburban to pay expenses so that is not an option. We also incurred many financial hardships unexpected during 2012 - theft, surgery, accident, pay cuts, etc. We still have fees from GiGi's adoption that has to be paid off. Those fees are not included in the $22,250; that amount is only what we know we need for Guan Ya's adoption.I REALLY REALLY Hate to even address this, but at this point I feel it is necessary. I think you need to know we are not getting funding elsewhere for anything - including our adoption. O.k. (sigh) here it goes........Contrary to popular belief we DO NOT get assistance from any other place. No one paid for our last adoption and no one is paying for any of Guan Ya's adoption. If you would like to question me about this, please feel free to send me an email and I will be happy to let you know we are self-sufficient. We make sacrifices, spend wisely and trust our Maker to provide. With the donations (whether monetary donations or buying items we had for sale, etc) we got from some very kind people and some sweet strangers we did raise some money and we are forever thankful for you. There is one person that helped; she did not fund our adoption but she gave the funds for Colt and Macy Jade to go to China. She knows who she is and I hope she knows how grateful we are and our children are for the life experience they gained! Our children were forever changed by that trip and I would not take it back for anything! It was a life changing experience for them and it was wonderful for GiGi as she felt much more comfortable with them around. We were all able to bond together. I could go on for days as to how life changing and positive it was, but that's for another day. Please do not judge people's funds by friends or family and assume they get their money from those sources. We were told by others during our last adoption people didn't feel they needed to donate because they thought someone else paid some, most, all of our adoption and paid for our home and other items. I'm sorry, but this could not be further from the truth! Phil and I pay our bills and I'll leave it at that. I just wanted to assure you that we are responsible for getting the funds for Guan Ya. If we do not get the funding, our daughter will forever be an orphan in China. I believe she will not have to carry that title, but we are her last hope at adoption since she ages out March 9, 2013. We have to be in China with the final adoption papers signed by March 9 (YES weeks away). They will not extend that date if we don't have the funds. Everything has to happen by that date or the adoption will not occur.We have filled out for a couple grants. We are hoping to hear back from one this week. If we do not hear by the middle of the month then the grant committee did not pick us. With changes in laws lately and the economical crisis, grants have had a huge increase in applications and sadly a decrease in funding. We have a few other grants we were eligible to apply for and I hope to hear from them prior to leaving for China. The grants alone might cover a couple thousand dollars IF we were chosen - Grants are to aid in paying for adoption and not meant to pay for adoptions. We are also going to get a video on GIVE1SAVE1ASIA as soon as we can get one together. The GIVE1SAVE1 is not a grant but they help promote for others in the adoption process and encourage others to give as little as $1 to help fund. We are busy and trying to get funding but we are going to need your help to bring our daughter home. I've added up and within the next week, we need $3,581 to pay fees. These fees cannot be delayed! This is to get our Dossier to China & fees from our adoption agency. I've seen God pull together people and make this work. We've added a Chip In button so people can watch the funds increase as people give. If you feel led please help us come up with the $3,581. We are just going to break the fees down as they come - the most expensive fees will be just prior to travel.

I've never enjoyed discussing finances, but that is what we have to get in order to have Guan Ya forever our daughter and not an orphan! We are working hard to get everything else together. If you know of something we have and you would like to buy, please message me. I ask you pray for us and SHARE our story every where you can.As stated in our last post As promised.... every little bit helps meet our goal! The more our story is shared, we pray the more people are blessed. Please share on Facebook, tell your work about us, put us on your prayer list at church!

This is Guan Ya and she is ready to come home

Can you spare $1 to help bring her home?

Our chip in button is at the top right of blog

and at the last post, I've given a list of ways you can donate.

PLEASE help us meet this ransom for our beautiful daughter that types to me

Mamma, I'm waiting on you to get me. I miss you!

Eternal love to you!

Guan Ya

Thank you for your support and prayers!

Our orphan loving God is bigger than that $amount we owe!

Satan has been after us a while, help us show the Devil how Christians will band together and not let numbers stop a precious

Sunday, January 6, 2013

I know I hit share to FaceBook on yesterday's post! I even typed something in the message about going to bed. When I looked at Facebook today, it did not show anything posting so I would appreciate you reading the post Standing Amazed In His Glory I want you to see the amazing things God will do with Faith! I know you will be encouraged!As promised from yesterday................Oh how we love all our children - of course this always includes our Guan Ya! We praise God for allowing us to have daily communication with Guan Ya! Our bonding is already so strong through emails! I want to share a few messages she has sent me. The first one I've already posted on Facebook but I want to have it here too.You can call this one lost in translation! lolGuan Ya "Ha ha! I like this bag, I never want you!" If I'd not gotten all the previous messages that night and the weeks prior, I would be concerned! Sometimes you have to laugh at miscommunications! It should have translated to "Ha ha! I like this bag, I always want you (my family)!" Sweet girl, you never, ever, ever have to worry about wanting for your family! After almost 14 years, your forever family is coming! We are here baby girl and going no where! We will ALWAYS be yours! We love our precious girl so much! Guan Ya and I have had many messages about her name and how she wants it written on American paperwork. I wrote out how each of us had our First, Middle, Last name written out - Ex. GiGi Dahl Smith, Macy Jade Smith, Colton Lane Smith, etc. Guan Ya "I would like to have my name Guan Ya Smith because I want my father's last name."Be still my beating heart as it is melting! She did not understand that Smith would automatically be her last name and wanted to make sure she carried her Daddy's last name like us! Macy Jade has asked if Guan Ya would like to have her middle name. Jade is a special name because Jade is very precious in China. I was again melted by the sweetness of my children to think Macy wanted to share her middle name with her sister! We mentioned this to Guan Ya and she likes Guan Ya Jade Smith also. We are giving her some time to think of exactly how she wants her name. For GiGi, it really doesn't matter how it's written because she has decided her name is YaYa! Everytime she saw Guan Ya's pictures, she would say "Guan Ya" then she would shake her head no and say "No Grandma!" I guess Guan Ya and Grandma was too close to sounding the same so she now says "YaYa sissy"!I've gotten so many sweet messages from Guan Ya that there are too many too list! They are daily! Some of the messages she sent us has just broken my heart to pieces! In the beginning she would write us how she would be no trouble to our family and how she would work hard for us and how she would take care of others. She even had other friends write to us and say the same things. Oh how it hurt to me to think in her mind we were adopting her for help! She thought the only way someone would adopt her - a deaf-mute, almost 14 year old girl - would be for a helper. She couldn't understand how we did not want her to take care of us but how we want to take care of her! We want to love her and she is our daughter! After much hard work through messages from us, I think she is really liking the idea of how much we really love her; how she is equally our daughter as any other daughter in our home!I have never mentioned her working for us. However, I did make the mistake one time of saying to her that if she liked to cook she could teach me how to cook Chinese. Guan Ya responded "I will always cook for you." I explained that was not what I meant at all! I told her that we could cook together for fun! I'd teach her how to cook American food and if she knew how to cook Chinese, then she could teach me how to cook it. It was something we could enjoy together, but that she was not the cook of the home. I have a feeling it may take some work to get her mind-set of a helper removed. She is loved and is a member of our family! I've tried to let her know she is already a member of our family in every message I can. With time, I think she will figure it out - probably be as rotten as the other kids & needing constant reminders for chores! lolThe message from last night really got me laughing! Guan Ya said I have so many exams to review. It has been so busy. I'm waiting on you to pick me up!I Loved the message! I guess she thinks it is just too busy at school for her now and that she is ready for us to come get her! I'm not sure if she thinks school here will not be as busy or hard, but she is ready to come home! I assured her we would be there very soon!!!! She has been so good about expressing her worries and letting us know her wants/needs/etc. I'm so proud & thankful she feels close enough to express her feelings already!We LOVE our kids and are so proud of all of our children! We have been blessed!If you feel led to donate, we have several ways for you to donate to help bring our daughter home (all found at the top of our blogspot). Mail to: Phil or Niki Smith, 226 Hwy 45, Rienzi, MS 38865Donate at any Trustmark National Bank:Phillip Smith or Niki J. Smith's Adoption AccountThere is a paypal button to the far right at the very top of our blogspot. If you click HERE it should take you to it.If you prefer to make a payment for our fees directly to our adoption agency, we are using http://lifelinechild.org/LifeLine Children's Services 2104 Rocky Ridge RoadBirmingham, AL 35216T: 205.967.0811F: 205.969.2137E: lifeline@lifelineadoption.orgYou can contact Morgan Cheek and I feel confident she would be more than happy to let you know how to get the money toward our fees.We are still in debt from GiGi's adoption and are honestly trusting faith in our Lord to provide the funds!

Our adoption agency figured adoption fees for Guan Ya to be around $30,000 (I don't think this included plan ticket, but I'd have to look at their estimates to be sure). Estimates always seem to be less than actual expense. GiGi's adoption costs us a little over $50,000 (I can provide receipts for ever thing for proof)* $6,000+ was due to the unexpected 1 week delay we experienced*Tickets were also at an all time high - praying ticket prices will be cheaper this flight.* Guan Ya's orphanage fee was graciously waived by her orphanage so that is saving us several thousand this time too!

The numbers look enormous on paper.....o.k. they sound elephantly (like my imaginary word teachers? ;-) too! We know He will provide and we hold all the faith! Please do not feel any amount is too small if you feel led to donate! Do you remember Mark 12:41-44? If everyone on my friend's list donated only $1 (no amount is too small!), we would have $1,912. (This would almost pay for the 2 fees we have due very soon!) Wow, what a difference $1 could make!If everyone on our face book list donated $1 and shared our link in turn causing 2 of their friends to donate $1, we would have $5,736.If everyone on my friend's list (1912 friends) donated $5, we would have $9,560If each person on my friend's list pledged to donate $1 a week until we united with our daughter, that would be $8 = $15,296 (1/2 our adoption fees ; $10 donated each = $19,210. (a good peaceful dent in what we will owe)Will you help us to get others to pledge just $1 a week until we leave? ($8 total which alone would cover 1/2 our expenses) Can you or anyone you know live without $1 a week?

For each person that donates $25 or more, I will make the same offer to send them a charm bracelet, or a necklace, or a pair of earrings if you want it. With the earrings or necklaces, you have a choice of MS State inspiredU of MS inspiredAL inspiredFaith inspired (ex. cross, words faith, etc)You have to let me know which you would like in the comments, an email or in the comments in paypal, etc. I know not everyone wants something so I don't want to send something you do not want.

See how it adds up so fast when everyone works together? PLEASE never feel any amount is too small! If you do not feel led to donate, please pray for us! Please pray specifically for the following-the funds to be met-paperwork and timing - for safety and continued bonding with Guan Ya-for us as we wait -wellness (someone here has been sick since Christmas Eve - I'm praying everyone will be able to go back to school tomorrow.)

If the first 2 prayer requests aren't met, we would not be able to unite with our daughter and she will age out of the system causing her to be a forever orphan. She has 8 weeks left to be adopted! If she is not adopted in 8 weeks, she will remain a forever orphan in China (she will forever be our daughter in our hearts!). I refuse to let my mind wonder there because I know God is the King of all Kings and I have faith that His will be done! I also know I have a lot of friends that care about the orphans and want them to have homes! If you didn't care about the orphans and Christ's love, you probably wouldn't be reading now........so I know you have the heart!If you don't feel led to donate to our funds, please consider helping someone today! If you feel led to help the orphans, there are lots of families needing funded and there are a ton of organizations that you can donate to. Regardless of what you are led to donate to let 2013 be the year of giving! Don't delay; today's the day! In the words of Winston Churchill "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give!"Thank you for each that continue to follow and share our story! Thank you for each of you that have prayed for us &/or given to us in any way! We are blessed by each of you!

Saturday, January 5, 2013

I will start today's blog letting you know if God is calling you to adopt (or do anything else), do not delay if He is calling for you now! He will provide! I have been simply amazed at how God provides when we follow His calling! What is money vs the power of God??? Didn't God feed the multitudes with just a little bread and few fish? (Mark 8) Do you think He is out of the miracle business today? I don't believe so! Remember Faith as small as a mustard seed? (Matthew 17:20) Do you know how small a mustard seed really is??? Usually only 1-2mm - here is a visualI would love to demonstrate 2 miracles of modern day faith, prayer, and willingness of others to follow His calling (both the adoptive families and others willing to aid the adoption of His wonderfully made children). All I know is that I Stand Amazed! I stand Amazed at the miracle of just how much God LOVES these precious children! I stand Amazed at how very much He will bless others that walk on Faith for these special children and how Only He could pull of these modern day miracle.

I posted the last day of 2012 about a family in needs of funds that was traveling very soon! Many wondered why in the world I would post about another family needing funds & why I would offer help for them if we really needed funds too! Well, this mission is not about US! This lifelong mission we have been called to is about THE CHILDREN! The precious children that have no homes or families - ALL orphans around the world! Yes, we are really in need of funds and I don't even want to say how far we are from meeting all the money we need. We have a short period of time, but guess what? Some of these other children and families have shorter time to come up with the funds! I believe God does not want me to focus on Me but to focus on His LOVE for all of us! I believe He calls us to Love one another as ourselves! Well, if I was selfish in only looking out for OUR funds, would I really be looking out for His children? ALL these children need & deserve loving home! We must all unite together for each of these children - NOT just our own children! I believe that is truly the heart of Christ!With that being said, I have been blessed beyond belief to watch others come together to give these children homes! I have been given a renewed faith that our funds will really be met too! The family that I wrote about last week here was $13,000 short of funds on December 17. If I'm not mistaken I'd read at one time shortly before that date, that Vickie also felt as we do.....it's too much to even count how much we need right now. Sigh, a too often feeling in the adoption community. The families that adopt are often not wealthy families, but families that have hearts broken for these children and are trusting God to provide! Let me just update about this precious family and how God provides for those that follow His will. This family is now 95% funded! Yes, praise be to the Lord and I thank each of you that donated to make this possible!Well, I was just giddy about how my Lord was providing for this family! I was so excited and my faith was pumped! Then, I was lead to another family. Stacy Richardson and her family stepped out on faith for her son! They immediately needed $15,000 for a "surprise adoption". Stacy didn't know where the funds would come from but she knew this was her son and that God had called them to adopt him - even though they didn't have $15,000 laying around. Within 24 hours, God provided through the generosity of others $11,236. NO I'm not joking!!!! Within 46 hours (YES FOURTY-SIX HOURS), they were fully funded for the $15,000! You think we don't serve an orphan loving God? Do you really think He will not provide? It maybe at the very last minute but He will provide! God knew I needed to see Him show out and He has used these 2 families as a model; when you follow His will & have faith, God WILL provide! He often calls others to help! I'm praising God for allowing me to see these miracles unfold! I'm praising Him for those that followed His calling and donated! I'm praising His name for those willing to be blessed and call these children their children! I'm praising Him for calling us to this journey! It's not always easy but it is faith building and a blessing! Wow, I'm so excited to see how God is going to provide for us! We have less than 8 weeks so we will find out before long! It maybe $1 at a time donations or it maybe several big donations.??? I don't know but I do know He will provide because Guan Ya is our daughter and this IS His will! We have 2 larger payments coming up soon so I'm excited to see who or how He provides for these needs! PRAISING HIS NAME! I pray you know my Father and can praise His name! I pray each of you are a Christian! If not, please message Phil or I and we would be more than happy to show you how to accept Christ as your personal savior! There is no peace like the peace you can get from His love! Sorry, that part got long - I'm excited! ;-) I wanted you to read all that because I want you to know about our Lord; I wanted you to praise Him with me; and I want you to be encouraged in your faith too! I know I was posting about Guan Ya tonight and her messages to us, but this got long. I figure you are tired of reading my writings so I will post about Guan Ya tomorrow! Yes, I really will - I already have the post written so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to hear about our precious girl! Keeping you in suspense. ;-) I praise the Lord for each of you that have continued to keep up with us, prayed for us and aided in our adoption in anyway! We sincerely Thank you!